Tracking Number: 182199
Title: "Lee Sang-Ock: Korean Peninsula Not Yet Free of Cold War." South Korean Foreign Minister's address to the Asia Society in Washington, DC, stresses the importance of the South Korean-US alliance. (910502)
Author: HOLDEN, ROBERT (USIA STAFF WRITER)
Date: 19910502
Text:
*EPF402
05/02/91 *
LEE SANG OCK: KOREAN PENINSULA NOT YET FREE OF COLD WAR
(Article on ROK foreign minister's address) (760)
By Robert F. Holden
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The new world order that resulted from recent events in Eastern Europe and the end of the Cold War in the West has not yet found its way to Korea, according to Lee Sang Ock, foreign minister of the Republic of Korea (ROK).
"I wish I could say the Korean Peninsula was free of the Cold War," Lee said in a May 1 evening address to the Asia Society in Washington. "Unfortunately, I cannot."
The maintenance of peace and stability in Korea, and Northeast Asia in general, Lee said, is more the result of the U.S.-ROK alliance and the presence of U.S. forces than any thawing of relations between the Republic and the communist regime in the north.
The ROK foreign minister said he didn't see the need for U.S. force presence lessening in the near future. "I have to stress the point that Korea will need the U.S. military presence in the foreseeable future to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Northeast Asian region," he said.
The U.S.-ROK alliance, Lee said, is the cornerstone of the Seoul government's northern diplomacy efforts -- "Nordpolitik" -- to improve relations and ultimately reunify with North Korea. But such efforts, he said, should not be compared to the reunification of Germany. "Instead of acting (like) tensions have been reduced when they have not, ...Korea and the United States should intensify their efforts toward reunification," he said.
The Seoul government, Lee said, seeks membership in the United Nations and earnestly hopes North Korea will seek it as well. U.N. membership for the two Koreas will not undermine reunification by perpetuating the country's division as the North charges, Lee insisted. Rather, he said, "it will serve as a powerful confidence-building measure."
The ROK foreign minister described the U.S.-ROK alliance as "indispensable," but said it was more a "venture partnership" than a dependent relationship. It will become more so, he said, as Korea assumes more of the burden of defending the area.
GE 2 EPF402 Lee said there were no big problems or fundamental differences between the United States and the Republic. He dismissed problems on the trade front, which he called a "source of friction and media attention," saying that no trade relations were trouble free. The potential for friction increased with the increase in U.S.-ROK trade volume, he said.
According to Lee, the Republic of Korea is the United States' seventh largest trading partner, the sixth largest buyer of American goods and the third largest importer of U.S. agricultural products. The ROK's trade surplus with the United States has fallen dramatically, he said, from $9,600 million in 1987 to $2,400 million in 1990.
Lee promised the ROK would set up a "comprehensive early warning mechanism" to head off areas of potential U.S.-ROK trade friction and would work to make its economy more open and transparent. He also promised that Seoul would remain steadfast in its commitment to the success of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
"Korea is a major beneficiary of the multilateral free trade system," Lee said. "We are committed to maintaining it."
The ROK, Lee said, also supports the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) process which it believes will serve to reinforce the multilateral trade system on a regional level. APEC is made up of 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the Republic of Korea and the United States. The third APEC ministerial will be held in Seoul in November.
U.S.-ROK relations are maturing and prospering toward a more equitable global partnership, Lee told the audience. But even after 40 years of alliance, he said, Americans still do not know the Korean people very well. As a result, Lee said his government will soon set up a Korea foundation in the United States to promote better understanding between the two countries.
Lee cautioned that the Republic of Korea does not yet see itself as an OECD-style industrialized nation. It is true that the ROK has achieved remarkable economic progress on its way to becoming a so-called "newly industrialized economy," he said, "but Korea is as yet a developing nation."
Before too long, Lee admitted, the ROK will have to consider joining the ranks of the industrialized countries and assuming responsibilities commensurate with that status. "Perhaps by 1995," he said, "but not in the next three years."
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File Identification: 05/02/91, EP-402
Product Name: Wireless File
Product Code: WF
Keywords: LEE SANG-OCK; KOREA (SOUTH)-US RELATIONS; OFFICIAL VISITS; KOREA
(NORTH)-KOREA (SOUTH) RELATIONS; COLD WAR; TRADE; URUGUAY ROUND
Thematic Codes: 140
Target Areas: EA
PDQ Text Link: 182199
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